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There is an increasing awareness of the prevalence and impact of trauma on publics' lives, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As intermediaries who shape symbols, discourses, meanings, and practices amidst evolving social, cultural, and psychological landscapes such as these, public relations professionals must remain mindful of their potential to inflict harm on the recipients of their work and understand publics' lived experiences that may involve trauma. Yet, little research has explored public relations work from a trauma-informed approach. Building upon Macnamara's (2016b, 2018) architecture of listening model, this study considers how public relations can help enact trauma-informed organizational listening. As such, this qualitative analysis of interviews with 54 public relations and strategic communication professionals yielded insights for listening with consideration for trauma and harm among diverse publics. Findings suggest that public relations professionals engage in trauma-informed listening via respect and sensitivity, listening out for invisible or unheard trauma, consideration of power distance, understanding that the trauma can be inflicted by communications work, and with consideration for 'compassion fatigue.' Combined with existing organizational listening theory, this article offers practical recommendations for how organizations can enact trauma-informed listening. • Interviews with 54 PR professionals yielded insights for listening for trauma. • Findings suggest that PR pros listen with respect, with consideration of power, and with consideration of compassion fatigue. • Trauma-informed listening can be seen as a bridge function between organizations and publics who have experienced trauma. • Public relations would benefit from training that draws upon concepts from counseling, medical, sociological, and psychological approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the scholarship of activist public relations, based on the ideas of the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu; notably his understanding of activism in society. Although Bourdieu is one of the most quoted sociologists in the world ( Santoro, 2011 ; Truong & Weill, 2012 ), his work has only received limited attention in public relations, and has been entirely ignored within the context of activist communication. This is despite his focus on power, relationships and the role of activists in modern democracies, all of which are central themes in public relations practice and research. Based on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the discipline’s prevailing, dominant, industry serving, functionalist paradigm positions public relations’ role in society as to perpetuate social inequalities. However, drawing on his ideas leads us to question if public relations skills could be equally utilized to challenge existing power imbalances in society, either in support or on behalf of those groups and individuals whose voices have been drowned out by traditional public relations efforts. The author argues that Bourdieu was not only an accomplished scholar, but also an activist in his own right. It is this combination of personal experience with academic ideas that lends weight to his scholarly work through which he urged the scholarly community to utilize their skills, knowledge and research to challenge (perceived) inequalities in society. The emergence of this type of activist academic , committed to giving voice to multiple coexisting, sometimes directly competing points of views, would arguably further justify and strengthen the existence of public relations as a scholarly discipline in its own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we investigated to what extent the willingness of people to take advice from the local government, people’s feelings of collective efficacy and empowerment, and their relationship with the local government, is dependent on whether the local government was accountable for the crisis or not. In addition, we were interested in the influence of empathic versus neutral crisis information on people’s behavior, feelings and their relationship with the local government. The results indicate that people’s intention to follow the advice of the local government is generally high, even when the local government is held accountable for the crisis. However, accountability negatively influenced people’s relationship with the local government, as well as collective efficacy. Our research shows that this negative outcome for people’s relationship with the local government cannot be countered by empathic crisis information. However, conveying empathic concern in the crisis information did enhance level of collective efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Advance care planning (ACP) is an important process that involves discussing and documenting one's values and preferences for medical care, particularly end-of-life treatments.Objectives: This convergent, mixed-methods study assessed whether an end-of-life conversation card game is an acceptable and effective means for performing ACP for patients with chronic illness and/or their caregivers when deployed in a community setting.Methods: Twenty-two games (n = 93 participants) were held in community settings surrounding Hershey, PA in 2016. Participants were recruited using random sampling from patient databases and also convenience sampling (i.e., flyers). Quantitative questionnaires and qualitative focus group interviews were administered to assess the game experience and subsequent performance of ACP behaviors.Results: Both quantitative and qualitative data found that Community Game Day was a well-received, positive experience for participants and 75% of participants performed ACP within three months post-intervention.Conclusions: These findings suggest that using a conversation game during community outreach is a useful approach for engaging patients and caregivers in ACP. The convergence of quantitative and qualitative data strongly supports the continued investigation of the game in randomized controlled trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the role of cultural values in influencing public relations practice in Singapore. Given that Singapore exhibits a hybrid of cultures, it purposes to comprehend how multiculturalism is operationalized and to uncover if the values that have a greater influence on organizational communication resemble those in individualistic or collectivistic societies. Using Gudykunst’s (1998) seven dimensions that influence individualism-collectivism on communication as a guide, this study interviewed 20 public relations practitioners in Singapore. Our findings showed that although the patterns expressed is slightly more consistent with those found in collectivistic cultures, it does not resemble collectivism in entirety. Multiculturalism in Singapore displays a blend of certain cultural hybridity, which is aligned with it being a multicultural cosmopolitan city that embodies Western modernity while retaining its Asian values. Our findings further reinforced the idea that public relations professionals need to be multicultural themselves to effectively communicate with culturally diverse stakeholders in today’s globalizing era of multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper rests on an assumption that media is much more than a communication channel or type of organization and that we have to take media under consideration if we want to understand the conditions for public agencies and their public relations activities. This is very much due to the processes of mediatization ; that is to say, the double-sided process through which media (a) emerge as an autonomous institution with its own set of rationalities that other institutions adapt to; and (b) become an integrated part of other institutions’. A second assumption is that the extent to which public agencies adapt to media varies between different types of organizations, mostly as a consequence of an organization’s management structure. Public agencies governed by career managers are more eager to get media attention and control the media image of their organizations compared to agencies governed by field professionals. Circumstances that position public relations at the centre within agencies governed by career managers, but with limited freedom of action. This raises a number of questions concerning circumstances, motives and consequences for public relations and in this paper we suggest three propositions for how we can understand the interplay between media in its institutional form, public agencies and public relations (1) public relations professionals have limited control to what degree public agencies adapt to the media logic (2) public relations professionals have limited control over public agencies media activities due to their high level of formalization and standardization (3) public relations in public agencies is to an extensive degree limited to media activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A definitional problem exists regarding ethics in public relations: many terms are used interchangeably and much confusion exists. This study is based on 28 elite interviews with opinion leaders in public relations and uses a grounded theory approach. Refining the way we understand and discuss ethics is particularly important in the public relations subfunction of media relations because it is on the front lines of interaction with journalists and publics. The credibility of media relations is often challenged by journalists, and the ethics supporting organizational decisions is often questioned by publics. Recommendations are offered from the moral philosophy literature to clarify and increase precision in terminology use related to ethics across the function and our most visible subfunction, media relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While public relations (PR) scholars have increasingly criticized the privilege of organizational interest , limited research has problematized the dominant analytical locus of organizational site . As a consequence, our understanding of the complexity and fluidity of PR in wider socio-cultural contexts has been constrained. To combat this shortcoming, this paper invokes the notion of “field” from institutional theory to examine how the field of Chinese PR is socially constructed, negotiated and contested by a range of actors based on their shared or competing logics and contingent inter-relations. Data were mainly collected through 48 in-depth interviews with PR agency consultants, in-house PR practitioners, journalists and industrial regulators as well as through complementary documents. The results indicate that studying PR as a socially constructed field can refresh extant PR scholarship by providing a dynamic and relational account of PR practices, and by reflecting the multifaceted interaction among various institutional actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the type of contributions that public relations professionals make towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, while discussing the issues and obstacles they face to enter into that professional area. To do so, the authors have looked at the top publicly owned companies in Spain, which are part of the so-called IBEX35 ® . The research included semi-structured interviews and interpretative analysis of official documents and reports. Our findings suggest that despite normative claims from CSR departments that downplay the importance of public relations in the design and implementation of CSR programmes, the empirical evidence suggests otherwise. In this context, our findings show important operational deficiencies and accountability deficits precisely because of the lack of public relations input in the design and implementation of these programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Call for Papers (CFP) for the Barcelona International PR Conference and for this special issue claimed that many in public relations “acknowledge the present as a time of rapid change, turbulence, and even transformation.” Then, citing Howard Gardner’s work on multiple intelligences ( Gardner, 1983 ) and minds for the future ( Gardner, 2008 ), the CFP asked for contributions exploring “what configurations of knowledge might best prepare the field to meet these challenges.” In responding to the call, the articles that follow range across different disciplines, cover different times and spaces, and include collisions as well as collaborations. In the process they confirm, even in intelligence controversies, the constitutive nature of communication and they put forward ideas with implications for practice as well as theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the advent of computer technology image-processing techniques have become increasingly important in a wide variety of applications. Image segmentation is a classic subject in the field of image processing and also is a hotspot and focus of image processing techniques. Several general-purpose algorithms and techniques have been developed for image segmentation. Since there is no general solution to the image segmentation problem, these techniques often have to be combined with domain knowledge in order to effectively solve an image segmentation problem for a problem domain. This paper presents a comparative study of the basic Block-Based image segmentation techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations’ identity in research sets parameters that can limit or illuminate the field. In this paper we consider how public relations have been developing a “relationship identity” in research. General public relations research, as opposed to sub-disciplines such as crisis communication, is dominated by a relationships approach. The focus on relationship was designed to enlighten public relations research and even improve the practice. But has the emphasis on relationships and focus on the organization–public relationship (OPR) as an outcome really enlightened public relations research? This paper explores four concerns about the application: (1) problems associated with applying a concept from interpersonal communication to public relations, (2) how identities affect the formation of close relationships, (3) the value of close relationships for publics, and (4) the parasocial nature of organization–public relationships. While of some heuristic value, the relationship focus should not be embraced uncritically. Public relations researchers should be cautious about concentrating on close relationships between organizations and publics and seek appropriate re-formulations and alternatives that more accurately depict organization–public connections. We should consider the value of weak relationships and parasocial relationships if we are to maximize the value of a relationship approach to public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations practitioners and academics are often silent on silence because the stigma on silence threatens to become a stigma on public relations. Journalists and communicators work in professional exchange and strive. The public relations practitioners are fully visible for the journalists; invisible are they only for the public. Silence has become a “code word” journalists use to pressure information sources not to shut up. This paper discusses public relations responses to that stigma, which include strategies of silence. I draw ideas from Aristotle's “apophatic” silence, Michel Foucault's “exhaustive representation”, Frances Sendbuehler's “profound communication silence” and John Cage's “sound of silence”. I suggest borrowing from those ideas and the development of silence and invisibility as central categories in public relations. Both are carriers of meaning. Both are ontological, neutral phenomena – neither good nor bad. I show possible applications in the areas of resistance, framing and change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the role of professional communication codes of ethics through a postmodern lens. It argues that codes of ethics interfere with individual ethical decision-making and move ethical responsibility away from the individual to that of the group. While recognizing the power of human agency in ethical decision-making, the article argues that in professional environments human agents also are bound by laws and contracts, which hamper unencumbered ethical decision-making in public relations practice. It critiques the role of public relations in promoting the ethical standards and ideologies of the powerful people they serve. They do this by presenting these ideologies and ethical standards as rational and objective. It argues for the rejection of universal codes of ethics of professional organizations in favor of individual, responsible ethical decision-making, which will be determined by the specific environment and situation of the practitioner. The moral impulse to the Other then becomes the guiding principle and the purest form of ethical decision-making in the workplace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations work involves shaping, reflecting and communicating identity for organisations and individuals, and is in turn shaped by the professional identity both of the field and individual public relations practitioners. This paper explores these issues from the dual perspectives of sociologist Erving Goffman's (1922–1982) reflections on the performance of work and Carl Jung's (1875–1961) concept of Persona, the socially acceptable face of the individual or group. The former explores these issues through observation of external behaviours, the latter by engaging with the psyche. Goffman and Jung, despite their conflicting worldviews, offer a complementary understanding of the operation, internal and external, of professional identity. The paper, which is conceptual and interpretive, with the objective of building theory, summarises contemporary approaches to professional identity in public relations and other fields, before introducing Goffman, who is often mentioned in this context, and Jung, who is not. Together these two scholars offer insights into the interior and exterior aspects of identity, which is here applied to public relations, raising questions both about the production of identity as a commodity for others and the production of self-image of public relations practitioners. The introduction of Jungian thinking brings the inward or experiential dimension of professional identity to this debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to test the compelling-arguments hypothesis in an agenda-building framework, focusing on the role of affect in blog communication. Conducting a 3 × 3 factorial experiment with two manipulated independent variables (valence and arousal), this investigation examined the influences of these variables on public relations outcomes (credibility, trust, and authenticity) as potential consequences of agenda-building relationships. Our findings showed main effects of both independent variables on perceived trust and authenticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some ideas crucial for the development of communication as a field are both contemporary and also based on classical philosophical thinking. An example of this is philosopher Benedict of Spinoza's ideas on the power of images and the importance of emotions to explain human behavior. This article delves into how Spinoza's ideas have been transmitted to classic public relations authors such as Walter Lippmann and Edward Bernays through the works of their masters and their mentors: George Santayana, who was one of Lippmann's philosophy professors at Harvard, and Sigmund Freud, an uncle of Bernays whose psychoanalysis theory shaped Bernays’ approach to persuasion. In contrast to these public relations masters of persuasion who had a pessimistic view of the human condition, Spinoza's Ethics is based on a positive anthropology of man that squares well with contemporary and more ethical relationship-building approaches to public relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a communication which will reflect on the need for organizations –public and private wishing to operate internationally to have communicative resources that go beyond the purely linguistic and which meticulously care aspectos of non verbal communication that integrate and value the interculural communication.In the globalized world we live in, not to possess mastery of all the communicative processes in addressing international negotiations can be disastrous for organizations. In that sense, we propose a reflection on the main aspects that private and public organizations must take into account when planning international action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The essay focuses on thinking about thinking about PR history. The space between history and sociology encompasses theoretical and conceptual frames and can be drawn upon to consider PR in time, across times and between times. It reflects upon the purposes and practices of historical sociology and foregrounds themes relevant to public relations, its histories and methodological approaches. The paper, which is methodological at the strategic rather than the technical level, argues that public relations historians can usefully engage with theoretical issues and problems delineated in historical sociology and historical theory. Evolutionary, functionalist and typological approaches and the cultural logics of historical periodization are discussed and contextualized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1965, the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) adopted the International Code of Ethics, which became known as the Code of Athens ( IPRA, 2001 ). The Code was authored by Lucien Matrat, a French public relations pioneer, and reflected a hopeful, post-World War 2 ethical framework with its strong linkage to the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 ( IPRA, 1994 ). A code of ethics was an early strategic imperative of IPRA, established 10 years before, and was coupled with a Code of Conduct, known as the Code of Venice of 1961 ( IPRA, 1961, 2009 ). Both codes were adopted by many national public relations associations and widely promoted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the start of the 21st century, significant work has been done in expanding not just the content, but the geographical, methodological, and social range of public relations scholarship. The expansion has parallels – a few of which we acknowledge below – in the body of historical work in the discipline. In this article, we contend that future research on PR pasts should seek to be relevant to three clusters of contemporary themes that feature strongly in mainstream history. Cluster one is the environmental context of globalization and associated geographical and social diversifications. Cluster two concerns the scale, methods, and ecological inclusiveness to engage with these changes; and, the third covers nation-centric mindsets, archival assumptions, and the impact of changing media. We also argue for PR historians resourcing the next stages of PR history from advances in historiography and history writing practices with particular attention to the point of view of the historian and awareness of the traditions and limitations, within which he, she, or they write. We suggest that this resourcing process will involve questioning assumptions of authority embedded in archive-centered PR research, decentering nation-bound narratives, re-evaluating notions of objectivity, and extending the field's temporal and spatial boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a new perspective on the historical approach to public relations by drawing from the work of French medievalist Jacques Le Goff, who was the principal representative of the Nouvelle Histoire (New History) French historiographical movement. Based on the notions of mentality and longue durée , which Le Goff inherited from the Annales movement, we propose that a nonlinear approach to the history of public relations will help to extend its time scale back to the beginnings of civilization. This seeks to overcome the historical boundaries usually established between the prehistory (or proto-history) and the history of public relations as a profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early development of public relations in Greece is explored through a focus on the period between 1950 and 1980. Specifically, the, article considers the origins and early developments, important actors, international influences, professional bodies and the field of practice. It is found that Greek business public relations were greatly influenced by American practices and through influential practitioners’ contact with the International Public Relations Association (IPRA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the influence and dominance of Alfred Chandler Jr.’s theory of corporate development within public relations [PR] history. Chandler's work on late 19th Century corporate development is influential in PR historiography. PR oftentimes places its genesis in the late 19th Century corporate sphere to distance itself from press agentry. Examining critiques of Chandler's work on corporate development, this study argues that rooting PR in a corporate context does not provide legitimacy to PR practice and skews PR history to favor a corporate narrative. Implications for both history and normative PR theory development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since at least the early 20th century, the corporation has arisen in the US as an entity that attempts to help individuals make sense of the world through the use of public relations. Public relations scholarship, however, tends to focus on how corporations primarily articulated their worth through touting how the products and services they offered were constructive to society. This study, however, through a review of Mobil's “Observations” advertorials that ran from 1975 through 1980, reveals how a corporation attempted to build an influential persona by offering a corporate personality, that is an empathetic fellow traveler who is also believable and aspirational. This examination of the presence of the corporate persona points to lingering concerns, especially regarding how well the corporation can realize and communicate its corporate character in a world that is increasingly complicated by the rise of non-traditional information sources (e.g., social media), and interlocking, systemic concerns (e.g., climate change, economic/ecological sustainability). Public relations can assist in better understanding such factors so that the corporate persona can act in ways that benefit stakeholders and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper chronicles the formation and development of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) up to 2002. It sets the GA's genesis within the context of other internationalisation initiatives undertaken by the wider public relations practitioner community and draws links between the formation of the GA and the emerging phenomenon of globalisation. The paper's intent is to describe the formation of the GA from a historical perspective, to understand the forces that led to its creation and to appreciate the different drivers and motivation of founding members. These factors provide a springboard to consider some of the issues that currently challenge GA, some of which were inherent in the governance model it chose at its inception. Through the analysis of original documentation, supplemented by associated contemporary materials and in-depth interviews with key players, the paper seeks to address the following questions: why was GA created? What visions and operational models were presented? What challenges emerged and how were they overcome? How do reflections on the early years of GA inform current issues? The paper concludes with a series of topics for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public relations has and, it appears, always has had an image problem. From public relations’ protohistory, through the rise of the publicist and press agent, the history of the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners remained rocky. Using the New York Times as a lens, this study seeks to examine, through a qualitative framing analysis ( N = 106), how public relations was perceived and discussed by one of its most important audiences, the journalist, during the early years of the twentieth century. The study found that while the tasks and media used in the practice of public relations as framed by the Times may be accurate, the cultural context of the early 20th century called the very “doing” of public relations into question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We investigate the role of customer–business relationships in brand equity. [•] The logic features the linkage between brand equity and multi-attributes attitude theory. [•] Three attributes (product, non-product, and relationship) were investigated. [•] Customer–business relationships are the primary predictor of brand equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We trace the legal framework for political public relations. [•] The importance of political public relations within democracy is shown. [•] American case law does not reflect the importance PR plays in democracy. [•] Legal implications for practicing political PR are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We combined best practices from public relations with value modeling to construct a model for identifying “good” social media crisis messages. [•] As a proof of concept, the resulting model was tested against social media crisis messages collected during the Hurricane Irene crisis. [•] Top-ranked social media updates shared a number of attributes, including links to further information, use of strong voice, and multimedia. [•] A set of best practices was proposed based on the value model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The personal influence model is common in Asian nations. [•] A few authors have argued that the model is universal and can be seen in the U.S. [•] These practices are not documented because U.S. historians focused on persuasion. [•] In early U.S. society, interpersonal communication was predominant over persuasion. [•] A few examples of personal influence in early U.S. history are included here. [•] With social media, personal influence can help restore relationship building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This essay presents for the first time an integrated and comprehensive historical analysis of the relationship between the external intelligence service in Israel, the Mossad, and the media. The theoretical framework of this research demonstrates the significance of analyzing the relationship through the lens of a challenge–response model, based primarily on public relations literature. Since different changes have taken place in society, culture and media, it is crucial to define what issues the Mossad faced during each era in order to accurately evaluate its strategic communications. The Mossad's ability to cope efficiently with crisis situations was majorly influenced by the proportions between the challenges and the responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Women's career experiences in British public relations in 1970s/1980s were exciting. [•] Evidence of agentic self-efficacy, not typically expected from women. [•] Male and female proxy agents and personal agency approach found. [•] Career experiences were not acknowledged as gendered labour. [•] Women did not act as change agents and were critical of subsequent generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aims to mention the most important events, cases and names that have had an impact on the public relations profession in Turkey within historically-divided developmental periods between 1920 and 2012. While forming the historical periods into sub-phases, socio-political and economical contexts are considered. Three separate periods are named: antecedents, emergence and developmental. Concerning these periods, the applicability of Grunig and Hunt's (1984) four models of PR is discussed within a Turkish context, and it is concluded that the typology does not totally fit into Turkish PR history. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper addresses the challenge to differentiate public relations scholarship from other related communication disciplines (i.e., marketing, advertising, communication studies) by examining the concept of the stakeholder–organization relationship and public relations’ unique contributions therein. This paper proposes that public relations scholars move beyond discussing relationship attitudes and examine the central concept of a relationship, which comprises mutual orientation around a common interest point and the multiplicity of stakes and stakeholders. Research imperatives in the integration of relationship stakes and the value of social media in relationship analysis stand to further differentiate public relations from marketing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In communication between organisations and consumers, the dividing lines amongst marketing, advertising and public relations are sometimes blurred. The confusion and overlap is more marked with the advent of the Web 2.0 and the proliferation of online campaigns, and associated initiatives. This article presents the results of ten in-depth interviews held with senior managers of PR consultancies operating in Spain in order to study and evaluate how these changes are being tackled from within the sector itself. It concludes that the sector perceives the current context as a great opportunity for growing and consolidating the strategic conception of public relations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dialogic communication is being boosted by the strong development of the social web. The web 2.0 is generating significant changes in the manner that organizations engage in dialogue with their publics, opening the way towards the interactive communication. In this way, web 2.0 tools will foster the dialogic communication between museums and their publics. Through them, the relationship between museums and publics is changing towards more interactive and collaborative forms. The objective of this article is to assess the level of dialogic communication developed by museums on the Internet, by analyzing the use of web platforms and social web applications as tools for dialogic communication by 120 museums in Spain. Two key aspects of communication between museums and publics using the Internet were identified to that end: content management and interaction management. These aspects enable a matrix which makes a distinction between the phases of evolution of the institutional web communication. The results obtained show that the museums studied are predominantly in a phase of monologic communication with their publics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Integrated communication has been discussed as both a process and a concept. On the one hand it is mechanical, through message and image matching, channel management, and measurement. On the other hand, it is also conceptual, based on a unique organizing philosophy that underscores communication mechanics. The latter, which can be termed “the spirit” of integration, has received little attention in the literature in spite of its influence on communication. This article proposes contextual variables that underscore and facilitate integration, including flexibility, adaptation, an open social system, and other informal processes. The article concludes by illustrating these contextual variables in the integrated communication efforts at a nationally-ranked hospital. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Social media is emerging as critical element of scanning for many crisis risks. When these crisis risks emerge online, people often confuse them with crises and that is why we have developed the term paracrisis. Para can mean “like” something. A paracrisis is like a crisis. It can “look like” a crisis and does require action from the organization. However, a paracrisis does not warrant convening the crisis team and operating in a crisis mode. This paper details the value of paracrises, how to evaluate their threat potential, and ways to respond to them and how to evaluate those responses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The rapid growth of social media challenges crisis communicators to disseminate safety messages to affected audiences quickly and in a manner that promotes maximum compliance. A nationally representative consumer panel responded to food recall messages that varied in source (organizational or user-generated) and reliability (confirmed versus unconfirmed). Results indicated that intent to comply with a food recall message was stronger in response to organizational messages than to user-generated messages, but did not vary according to message reliability. Strong age cohort effects were seen in the responses to message source, with younger participants making less distinction than older cohorts between organizational and user-generated sources. Implications of the results for public relations and crisis communications theory and practice, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research were discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Communication plays very different parts in two of the most influential political works of the last 500 years, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) and Utopia by Sir Thomas More (1478–1535). The contrasts between More''s carefully controlled and Machiavelli''s unconstrained political communication shed light on the communication issues and practices of their times, some of which may still figure in relations between state and citizen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article reviews lobbying in the political sciences and public relations literature, and it also provides a conceptualization for the regulatory practices of lobbying around the world. Then, it presents the newest law on lobbying instituted in 2010 in the Republic of Slovenia, the Integrity and Prevention of Corruption Act. This Act treats lobbying in two ways: (1) as a communication technique used by interest groups to privately influence government officials and (2) as a process of access to information by the same interest groups. This inconsistency follows the same trend for lobbying regulation in Europe and raises important questions regarding lobbying practice and regulation. Lobbying is fundamentally a public relations practice exercised in private and public sectors, and it uses direct and indirect communication between interest groups and their respective government. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper follows a critical approach in exploring the philosophical underpinnings and key features of dialogue in public relations practice and thinking. It argues that dialogue has been uncritically equated to two-way symmetrical communication, which has not done justice to the nature of dialogue, and has effectively stifled concrete development of a dialogic theory in public relations. The paper draws from a range of literature, including mainstream public relations and communication philosophy—in particular the philosophy of Martin Buber. The purpose of this paper is to inform public relations thinking by encouraging debate rather than proposing a new theoretical approach. As such, it sets out to explore the concept of dialogue and its philosophical underpinning, considers its practical application and suggests that it should not be seen as superior to persuasion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Forty individuals from the American Red Cross were interviewed to explore the use of social media in communicating with key publics. Results show that practicing public relations through social media is effective and necessary in the emerging digital age, as shown through the Red Cross’ development of a two-way dialogue with younger constituents, the media, and the community. This two-way dialogue has been accomplished primarily through Twitter and Facebook, with barriers such as lack of staff and time, and opportunities to improve National Headquarters and local chapter relations. The insights shared by the American Red Cross are useful for both public relations scholars and professionals to help them understand and apply social media practices to build strong, lasting relationships. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As the first quantitative test of contingency theory in China using an online survey, this study examined the influence of each of the over 80 individual contingent variables as perceived by Chinese public relations practitioners. Individual characteristics as related to conflict management as well as political–social factors were identified as the most influential variables. By forming influential contingent factors and exploring the dimensionality of these factors using factor analysis, the results of this study suggested structural stability of the contingency matrix. Further, the effects of gender and types of organizations were tested on how Chinese practitioners perceive these influences in their public relations practice. The findings provide insights for both practitioners and researchers on how to strategically identify and combine the most influential factors in effective and ethical conflict management in China. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the influence of in the context of demographic characteristics of public relations practitioners (PR) in the Greek financial services sector as they adopt and utilize the internet for PR purposes. Data is gathered via an on-line questionnaire administered to PR practitioners that work in companies participating in the Athens Stock Exchange. A quantitative approach was used in order to depict the attitudes and perceptions of these practitioners toward the use of on-line PR. The findings indicate connections between age, trialability, working experience, and adoption. Identifying the factors that affect the adoption of the internet by PR managers may assist organizations and practitioners to improve their relations with stakeholder publics in the digital world. The value of the paper is in conceptualising theoretical approaches of innovation and internet adoption and helping to create a framework for internet adoption by PR managers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study attempted to explore the linkage between ethical conflict and job satisfaction, causes of ethical conflicts, and consequences of job dissatisfaction of public relations practitioners. The findings show that many practitioners confirmed the existence of ethical conflict in their workplace and suggest that ethical challenges are largely triggered by top management''s ethical standard. Although practitioners resolved conflicts by leaving their companies, they also recognized the hope in resolving the ethical challenges that they had faced. Participants emphasized the importance of an open communication environment, the support of internal stakeholders, and a high professional standard. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As inarguably one of the most influential theories in public relations scholarship, the symmetrical theory devalues the most common public relations objective, persuasion. This article deconstructs Grunig''s work and re-constructs classic rhetoric to provide a post-symmetrical direction for public relations scholarship devoted to influencing behavior. By viewing the practice of persuasion from the perspectives of Aristotle, Plato, Isocrates, Burke, Nietzsche and others, this paper provides ethical and procedural guidelines on how today''s public relations scholars can refocus the public relations agenda to focus more on real-world issues. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]